Spoil Your Baby Ep 37 – Finding Hope and Light in Evidence-Based Sleep

Why Linda Chose Sleep Consulting 0:00

The reason I wanted to become a sleep consultant is that it is a flexible job. You can choose your hours. I really love being with my son. And also in the Czech Republic, you know, first three years is when mama receives maternity leave, paid maternity leave. I kind of had that mindset and everything we know from attachment theory, from neuroscience, the first three years are the most foundational for future mental and physical health. And so I had the mindset, but I knew I wanted to have a flexible job.

This allows me to do that. You know, I work four hours a week and I'm actually starting to make some you know, good money to, um, yeah, so I'm curious, I am excited as to where it's gonna go next. Welcome to Spoil Your Baby podcast. I' m so excited to have my co-host, Rocio Zunini here with me today and our guest, Linda. welcome, linda. Thank you. thank you for having me. So, Rocio, why don't you kick it off today? Let us know what we're going to talk about. We have Linda, who is one of our Neuroscience practitioners and she's doing such amazing work out there that she is coming to the podcast to highlight

From New Motherhood to Holistic Sleep Support 1:24

her work. And yeah, we want to talk about it. So Linda tell us a little bit about your background. Um, so, um, I am actually originally from the Czech Republic from Europe, but I live in California in the United States. And, you know, before I became mother and, um, You know before, I actually moved here in COVID. So it was really hard to make connection. I just graduated from college. It was a really difficult time for me, but pregnancy and becoming a mother absolutely changed my life. And coming from the Czech Republic meant that I was exposed to different parenting.

And when my son was born, I heard advice like, you have to sleep train before he turns four months because you're going to face the sleep regression and you will regret it. It was just so conflicted about that advice. So I started to read books and I really was hungry for information. I was the one of the months who was just up at 3 a.m. reading, you know, all the information I could find on Google and it still didn't feel right. And then I came across Lindsay's Hookway book with a sleep expert.

and that really resonated with me. Later, I found out she designed a holistic sleep coaching program, which I decided to take later, but this completely changed my life. I decide to support families with sleep. Decided to basically prevent sleep training. Got into this work prevent sleep training. I want to just take a minute to celebrate that. Yes. Yay. Absolutely. And I knew early on that I had to work with newborn mothers and even pregnant mothers of pregnant families because sleep-training happens early And, you know, I actually in my sleep consultations, work with families who sleep trained and it didn't work for them.

So I can still work at families later on because I want to prevent it. I knew I had to work in months and this early on. And back then, I was just really confused how I'm gonna approach sleep.

Discovering Neuroscience-Based Sleep Training 4:12

What techniques I am gonna use? How am I actually gonna support families? And when I having all of these questions, that's when came across Greer's Instagram. I learned about Grear through Dr. Lindsay Hookwe. And everything that you posted just resonated with me. And I think the fact that it's all backed by research and neuroscience just makes it more digestible more. We think this is really true of what you're preaching. And so I really, I've really resonated with that. And then you posted that you're gonna host a professional training and I was so hungry.

I'm still hungry for knowledge.I want to learn more and more.And Iwas really interested in the neuroscience approach. And at the time, I had no idea you're gonna do the circles. No idea that you can provide sleep training program. I mean, sleep teaching us how to lead sessions sleep sessions. And it just all came together. Now I'm here leading my second circle. I would say it's a successful, you know, gathering for moms. Moms really need it. I lead one-on-one sessions, sleep sessions. And you gave me, or your work gave hope.

Your work give me light. gave me this direction and I feel really good at what I'm doing right now. Thank you so much for sharing that, Linda. It really touches my heart to hear the impact on you and then now all these people that you're impacting as well. So exciting. I had also done another sleep certification before this one. I'm so happy to hear all of the intentions I had for this new certification have just resonated so well, right? I thought, you know, it's so important to have the one-on-one sessions, and that's going to absolutely be a huge part of work I want to train people to do.

But adding the circle element to it, I think, really, really was the magic kind of piece, right? Where we could really gently teach. We could gently integrate and have people actually practice what's in my book and the things that I teach and then also just create connection in real

Building and Marketing the First Circle 7:00

life for mothers and community. Absolutely. That's what I'm craving. Yeah, exactly. And so, we wanted to have you because you have been just so successful in attracting mothers and in creating your circles and your one-on-one consults. Will you tell us a little bit about what your circle looks like and sort of some of the feedback that you've been getting? Yeah. Well, first of all, I want to say I fought so hard for these circles because you are starting something new. Yeah, it's like your baby.

Yes. And so you really need to be a business person. You need hungry for this and I was hungry because I'm waiting for the opportunity for many years. And so I have a 3 year old son and before this I am a stay at home mom. having some sleep consultations. So every opportunity I had, which means when he was asleep or when someone watched him, I was working on marketing and promoting the circle. I think I've had to really get creative. I definitely got out of my comfort zone. I was recording videos, I'd never done it before.

Videos on my face saying what to expect in a circle.I was posting regularly something I don't feel good. You know,I don' like it. It's not my thing. But I actually really got comfortable with it at some point, you know, I faced my fears. And I was writing with chalk, or drawing with Chalk in front of the playgrounds, grocery stores, schools, that there's an earth sign circle, circle. I send a Google form offer my circle And some moms told me, yeah, I saw the chalk drawing. But the thing is that I wanted everyone in my area where I live, everyone to know that there is an extraordinary sign circle.

Even if they don't sign up, it just wants to bring that awareness. It was everywhere. Wow, Linda. How incredible. And actually, while I was still marketing, I traveled back to the Czech Republic for a month. I visited my family. That trip was planned for really long time. So I had to market from there, and it's totally possible. It was done all online. And then I got back and five days after then, i had my first circle. At that point, when I still in Europe,I had one person who just signed up. Like that's all.

Just one And then five days before the circle, I had three more people sign up. I'm like, okay, i can do this. But I knew I want more. So I hustled and I signed up even the last person at the day off the Circle. Amazing. So I had seven moms in my first circle and it was incredible. I'm just so grateful for those moms, for their trust and for believing these ideas and yeah, just, and they transformed their lives. And the second circle was so much easier. Like I actually, my limit was 10 moms per circle.

And I have 14 months ago and they still keep reaching out, can I still join? Can I so join. I'm going to do another one in January. But you know, it's also hard because many moms have to go back to work. And at this point, I had to say no, because the circle cannot be too full.

Powerful Stories from the Mothers' Circle 10:48

It has to be still an intimate and safe space for moms. a certain amount of time for everyone. But yeah, if I can share some stories. Yes, please. This space is truly transformational for me and especially for them. You know, I sometimes I don't realize what I'm doing. I feel empowered. You I am the one who is speaking and teaching something. It's really empowering work. But I didn't realized sometimes what it's doing for the other side. And I had one mom told, like she just texted me, she said, Linda, you have no idea you're changing people's lives.

I will give you an example. I had one mom come to the circle. She was one of the last ones to sign up to. This is our third child. And she went to a doctor. and the doctor prescribed her medication to stop the production or slow it down. Unfortunately, she took too much of that medication and she stopped nursing completely. Her child is less than two months old. Now imagine, yeah, now imagine that like situation you are, She finally felt like, okay, I'm out of the goo. I have two more kids. Like I got this.

And then she loses the milk. She comes to the circle. And she that's like the last five minutes of the circle and she is the one to share and shares this story and everyone in the room is like, whoa, we asked her what do you need? And I need this medication that starts the lactation again. I cannot find it anywhere. You cannot buy it in United States. And then what happened? One mom in the circle said, I have this medication home. I will give it to you. She gave her the medication and the production started again.

So the next time she came to the Circle, she said I'm not producing as much as I would like at the moment, but it started Also, she had only two days left of the breast milk. And so, other moms in the circle donated breastmilk. It just, so you see how this changed the mother's life, right? Another mom shared, you know, before the Circle, my life was darkness. it was miserable. Anywhere I went, I felt like mothers are perfect. I'm not good enough. But then she joined a circle where everyone, right in the first class, everyone is vulnerable.

There's no pretending. Like the prompts, the questions we have, they way it's structured, it just really, people open up. And she said that she went back home, she hugged her husband, and she cried. She said, thank you for encouraging me to sign up, this is making me feel good about myself as a mother. Yes. Total success. I was getting so emotional hearing those stories, both that community support. That's exactly what a mom needs. Yeah. This is such a raw period of time for them. And they don't have anyone.

Our society doesn't support them, and they might have some people around, but they didn't know how to support him. One mom said, I didn' know before I joined the circle that this is what I needed, that I need it to be surrounded by other moms. So I love that point Rosy and I always talk about that when we're creating these circles and when were creating our own offerings for from others because our society does put us in a position where we actually don't know what we don' have we dont know we are missing and so much of the hurt and kind of struggle we can go through, that doesn't necessarily come from what happens to us, it's from doesn' happen to use.

Right? And so, this kind sharing what you're doing here, thank you so much, because it is giving people a bit of a glimmer of what they can receive.

Flexible Work, Community Impact, and Future Plans 15:00

Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. And again, it gave me voice and I'm giving back to the mothers because I am providing them with information that is based on neuroscience. It's not based om myths. I think everyone deserves to have this information. Yes, absolutely. Oh my goodness. And so for you, it sounds like it's been really enriching for as well. Absolutely. Yeah, it's still I'm still committed, you know, I've been the reason I wanted to become a sleep consultant is that it is a flexible job. You can choose your hours.

I really love being with my son. And also in the Czech Republic, first three years is when mama receives maternity leave, paid maternity leave. I kind of had that mindset and everything we know from attachment theory, from neuroscience, the first three years are the most foundational for future mental and physical health. And so I had the mindset, but I knew I wanted to have a flexible job. This allows me to do that. You know, I work four hours a week and I'm actually starting to make some you know, good money to, yeah, so I'm curious, I am excited about where it's going to go next.

Yeah, can't wait to see, and I also imagine, you in your community, right, having put out so much you know, beautiful messaging and energy out and how much that is gonna come back to you as well, right? Having this impact, the ripple effects of all the moms that you've already touched and all of the families and, how that's gonna spread is just so exciting. Absolutely, yeah. Yeah, I am doing things beyond the circle. I'm actually going to get all of my circle months together in December after all circles are completed.

That's going be 20 mothers. Throughout the Circle I organize different events, but I invite massage therapists to work on them. Invited an artist to cast the baby's hand, a photographer, and I decided I want to do talks as a part of for this community. And the first talk is going to be provided by a marriage counselor, because I see a real need there for couples, you know, to get help. I think it's the most common time when a couple gets divorced or separated. And so, I want to, you know, give them some techniques, how to co-parent, and how work together as a couple, because this is an extremely difficult time.

Couples don't have any support, especially in my area. So, yeah. That's a beautiful offering. It is such a wonderful offering, there are a lot of people who have so much difficulty, right? We talk about... in all, you know, all things, including the circle, that major, major transformation that a mother and a father go through when they have a baby and introducing this new intimate relationship and the support that the parents need. You know? Navigating all of this can be really challenging. Really, really, challenging for parents.

And that is also my wish, right? For people to thrive in their relationship during that time, even though it's hard. Yeah, yeah, my work is, I see that what I want to do, and I wanna prevent disaster, regret, you know, And I'm gonna do whatever I can to nurture the community. It's nice to get a financial reward, right? But my ultimate reward is helping them. Yes, absolutely. I know when we, and Rocio and I look at all the practitioners that have already been trained around the world, we just imagine each of them as like a beacon of light, kind of just shining out from where they are.

And if we can get practitioners to cover the whole earth also, it will overlap and we'll just reach all of the babies of world. That's the goal, right? So you're doing it in such a beautiful way. Yeah, I am doing it and mothers might be doing a good, join the circles and yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. Amazing. Well, for anyone who wants to find you, whether they're in your area or virtually, where can people find? Yes, so I live in Perfex, Marin County in California, it's in the Bay Area, New York, San Francisco.

That's where I lead my in-person circles at the moment. I'm thinking about leading online circles in a future, but at a moment I do the in person circles. If you want to find me, you can find on Instagram. My Instagram names is A Nurturer with Linda. Beautiful. And you can also find a form there to register for a sleep consultation, which, you know, I never offer sleep training. I've tried to find different options to maximize your family's sleep and help with different problems like frequent wakings, night weaning from two years old, and so many other things.

Fantastic. Well, we'll post all of the links in this episode as well. I want to thank you so much for being here today and sharing this incredible success and modeling this beautiful, beautiful practice that you have to everyone out there listening. And I also want thank to you too because you gave me light and that's why I'm doing this work and it feels so good and I would recommend this to every one. Amazing. Thank you so much, Linda. I feel the love and I'm sending you love too. Yeah.